She's now an advocate for child sex trafficking laws, but 10 years ago, she was a victim, forced into prostitution by strangers who tracked her down in her neighborhood.
"They had followed me for quite some time and knew my pattern so they knew where I lived and threatened my family if I did not go," she said. "When I was told they knew what street I lived on and had a child, it felt more real to me than ever before."
Lewis now helps other through Shared Hope International. The group analyzes and pushes for strengthening of sex trade laws.
According to the group, more than 100,000 minors are used in prostitution every year in America, and they estimate that's just a percentage of the children that are abused as a result sex trafficking crimes
Samantha Vardaman, senior director with Shared Hope International, said, "These are not foreign children, these are U.S. citizen, lawful U.S. residents."
The group released a new study, which shows how Texas ranks in the nation when it comes to child sex trafficking laws.
The researched was conducted by Shared Hope International and released at a national press conference in San Antonio on Thursday morning. The study grades states based on sex trafficking laws, treatment of victims and prosecution of offenders.
The Protected Innocence Initiative ranked Texas among top four states with a B grade, along with Illinois, Missouri and Washington. However, 41 states received Ds and Fs. The report card shows where changes need to be made.
Vardaman said, "Primarily what it's intended to do is be a tool for legislators and advocates to look at where the weak links are in the legislative framework."
Years of investigating revealed a painful truth.
"And what was for sale was middle school kids," said Smith, who is with Shared Hope International, an organization dedicated to promoting zero tolerance for child sex trafficking.
Kids as young as 12 years old are being sold to what Smith referred to as "the typical common man."
It's happening across the country. It's happening in San Antonio.
"Unfortunately there is a demand for it," said Chris Burchell of the Texas Anti-Trafficking Organization. "They're working online, they're working in truck stops."
In some cases, children are even sold by their own families.
UTSA professor Robert Ambrosino spent several months with 23 of his students producing a domestic sex trafficking documentary called "Behind Closed Doors." Those interviewed said they were sold in San Antonio when they were only children.
"The people we interviewed had been trafficked by their parents," Ambrosino said.
Although Texas laws are getting tougher at defining prostitution and sex trafficking, Linda Smith said there are still big gaps nationwide. She said other states will hopefully follow suit and also crack down hard on domestic sex trafficking.
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